Buffy The Vampire Slayer Takes on Abortion

As much as I want to make a terrible joke about wire hangers and vampires…I’ll control myself because this is a HUGE step in comic books, and pop culture as a whole for that matter. What you read in the title is right, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that cute blond heroine of Sunnydale High, has decided to get an abortion. Just click on the panel below to read it for yourself:

Joss Whedon has always been a fervent supporter of feminist issues, but even this is a bit courageous for what he’s used to dealing with. He’s taken one of the most popular idols of feminism who stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Wonder Woman, and he’s thrown her right into the middle of the most controversial women’s rights issues today. No matter where you stand on the issue, this is a really brave move on the part of Whedon and crew. Here’s some of the best bits from an interview with USA Today:

Deciding on the issue

“It’s not something we would ever take lightly, because you can’t. You don’t. It’s not an easy thing for anyone..

Buffy was always about the arc of a life, and it wasn’t ever going to be one of those shows where they were perpetually in high school and never asked why. It was about change. So there’s never a time when Buffy’s life isn’t relevant.”

The Politics of the Subject

“It’s not that women should be on one side or the other, but that people have to make this decision and talk about it. It offends me that people who purport to be discussing a decision that is as crucial and painful as any a young woman has to make won’t even say something that they think is going to make some people angry.”